Help - Fishing For Alungi

[shanook]

@ Malvizzu, the Gaffer told you why he pref ares the high end reels, as when and If he meets with a good size tuna he wants to give it a run for the money.
For Alungi the smallest cheapest reel will work fine. Okuma has a good size reel for alungi and if I am not mistaken its a lever drag reel, these types are ideal for those inexperienced (as well as for the Pros) in fishing with a reel. The difference being that you set the drag at home and u dont have to play about with tightening the drag, with star drags u have to be more experienced as if you tighten a bit more than u are supposed to, the line will snap.
I dont know the price of the okuma but I am sure that you will find it very competitive with other reels.
Regarding the line momoi vs braided. Momoi can stretch, the braid does not stretch. There are different theories to this, some fisherman swear on the stretch to  give time for fish to swallow the lure, others like myself dont like to get a lot of stretch and usually set the drag high to penetrate the hook quickly. In my opinion the braid will make ur Rod and ur reel brake work harder, as the pull of the fish will be directly on them than being helped by the stretch of the line.
Regarding the strength, well alungi dont put up much of a fight, and the worst bit is the initial pull when they run with the lure. the second part which is when they get to the boat, can be easily avoided by keeping the boat going forward in a crawling speed.
Malvizzu if you have never fished with a reel, ask someone to show you how to pump up the fish as I have seen people, pulling in the fish just by turning the handle on the reel, this method is only good for High end reels.
Next meeting you can have a chat with any member who goes fishing for Alungi, We are all more than welcome to share with you.

[Spirit of Jason]

The last two posts from The-Gaffer and Shanook are worth the member ship fees alone, thanks guys.

Captain Gus

[malvizzu]

They certainly are. When I enrolled with this forum, I never thought that so much expert help would be given. Thanks to everyone whom with their knowledge keeps this site alive and kickin'.

[The_Gaffer]

Thanks Gus. Posts like yours is what makes me carry on here. Appreciation is worth a million bucks!. Malvizzu I will reply to your post regarding momoi tomorrow as I'm using my blackberry at the moment. Shanook's version is very close to my thinking

[robby017]

malvizzu, i personally prefer handlines for alungi....... if you want, let me know and i'll show you how to rig them up..... kemm tigi sal garax u nurik......

[OKUMA-1976]

@shanook

for your information
okuma Classic45L Star Drag back in stock Mid April Starting Price Eur53.
PENN Star Drag in stock  Starting Price Eur47.
all backed by our two year warranty.

[skip]

If you want to spend a bit more without going OTT I would consider the Okuma Solterra SLR-30, new gen lever drag reel.

But the Classic is a good starter reel, I just feel if this is something you're going to get into you might want to consider something slighter more robust - but as the guys can tell you I'm an equipment freak and really should spend more time fishing and less time buying/trying equipment!!!

You might come across articles on the net where reels have braid backing and then a Mono top shot.....this is called West Coast Style and was created to fight the really big tuna.....these guys in the US were finding they needed 1000 yards+ worth of line on their reels hence the braid backing to gain capacity but always with at least 75-100 yards of mono top shot joined to the braid to give some shock absorption in the line.....So long as you can get around 350-400 yards of line you're fine for Alungi as the smaller reels will have less max drag capability.

In terms of rods I like either all guides (open rings) or guides plus a top roller.....standup boat rods are usually found with guides and are characterised by their shorter length 5ft5 or thereabouts....some of the 50/80lbs rods will have the 1st and last guide as rollers to cater for the pressure, but rods that are all roller will tend to be close to 6ft or a bit more and were primarily intended as a fighting chair rod hence the length and rollers all over. Ultimately it's a preference thing as well but open guides require less maintenance than rollers.

It's worth spending money on good mono like Momoi Diamond as you don't want to lose a fish due to low grade mono, otherwise you'll need to replace the mono every season or two depending on use and how it holds up.

Like The Gaffer and others have said everyone has their own preference when it comes to the lure spread but I reckon 4-6 inches max, and have a mix of feathered tuna plugs, rapala type lures including at least one Halco style rattler, conehead lures, flat head lures, cedar plug and a daisy chain would all be good to add to your tackle box.

As for colours, the first recommendation is to match your lure to the hatch size that the fish are feeding on.....in other words not point having 8 inch lures if they are feeding on small baitfish....then adjust colour based on a) type of day - Sunny bright colours, overcast dark colours and b) sometimes fish are in a mood for a particular colour/combo of colours. In the US where tackle is much cheaper the big boats will have a whole set of matching lures for all their rods. eg. If pink/blue 4 inch lure is proving productive they will switch all rods to the same lures!! As most of us can't afford that try and match lure size and type.

And finally the position of the lures, again a matter of preference and what's working on the day but have agressive lures like Rapala's close to the prop wash and your less agressive lures further back.

[The_Gaffer]

Malvizzu - Why Momoi instead of braid...the answer is simply - Why not!

Momoi Diamond is the world leader in main line, with a breaking strength well in excess of 80% its rating.  When trolling, pelagic fish tend to strike hard and fast.  I usually set my drags a bit tight, so that when a strike happens, the main line slightly stretches and sets the hook on the strike.  Unlike braid, which does not stretch, momoi Diamond stretches and has no memory, so in fact it returns to its original length and rating. 

[redhead]

Sorry for my stupid question Gaffer but why do you use a leader when you have mono of smaller diameter in the reel ? I am very interested in buying a spool of clear momoi diamond for spinning since I have the impression that this looks like traditional mono. Am I wrong ?

[The_Gaffer]

There is no such thing as a stupid question. Indeed your question is logical. The leader should always be stronger as its closest to the fish and receives the most punishment during the fight to land your catch. Your main line, being longer has the ability to cushion and absorb the continuous struggle the fish puts up. The leader is subjected to contious forces; shaffing against the fish's body and fins, abrasions against its mouth and jerks when when the fish is trying to spit out the hook.

[skip]

Diamond looks like regular mono.

Seeing how the leader is thicker than the main line we use flurocarbon. I rig my lures with fluro as my leader its only when i use a rapala that there would be no leader which could be a disadvantage for the reasons joe pointed out.

[Spirit of Jason]

One more silly question Nick, what is a Rapala.

Captain Gus

[caldaland]

rapala is a spanish dish like paella.lol. kidding mate.its a trademark of fishing lures.

[skip]

http://www.rapalaworld.com/

then you have people like Strikepro etc who make similar hard bodied lures at more cost effective prices

[The_Gaffer]

Here are a couple of sites which provide a better insight into lures, whether they're soft, hard or rattlers!!

www.pakula.com
www.williamsonlures.com